You must want the ball like you want chocolate cake for breakfast and breakfast cereal for dinner. Sure, sitting down and picking grass might look like a great idea when a player on the other team does it. But that is your chance to kick the ball while the other team is down.

People often talk about the difficulties associated with parenting a child with autism. But this post isn't about that. I want to recognize and celebrate the upside of autism, a blessing we "special needs parents" are given somewhere, somehow -- packaged up in a gift I like to call "perspective."

I hope you are enjoying seeing little Billy run around the field with his little soccer ball. I noticed one thing, though; you seem to have a lot to say, whether it's to me, the other parents, or the coaches. I kindly request that you shut your trap.

Parents have to help their children to discover the joy of healthy competition, but competition taken too far can lead to an attitude that everything is a competition and worth is based on winning and losing.